Tailgate sealing arrangement

ABSTRACT

A tailgate sealing arrangement for sport utility and other vehicles having a removable, flexible top. The sealing arrangement includes an elongated, rigid member attached to the lower section of the rear portion of the flexible top. The rigid member is removably mounted to extend across the tailgate opening and has a flexible seal depending downwardly from it. The tailgate in the preferred embodiment is mounted for pivotal movement about a vertical axis and has a horizontally extending, flat, upper surface. In operation and as the tailgate is closed, the depending seal contacts and wipes across the flat, upper surface of the tailgate to form an effective sealing arrangement. All of this is done without having to disturb or otherwise manipulate the top.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] This invention relates to the field of tailgate sealingarrangements and more particularly to the field of tailgate sealingarrangements for vehicles with flexible tops and tailgates having flat,upper surfaces.

[0003] 2. Discussion of the Background

[0004] Providing effective sealing arrangements between vehicletailgates and the rear portions of vehicle tops has always presentedchallenging design problems. These problems are particularly prevalentin sport utility and other vehicles which have removable, flexible topsof fabric-like material such as canvas or vinyl. Co-owned U.S. Pat. No.4,600,235 taught a very commercially successful approach to sealing atailgate with a vertically extending lip or surface against a rigidcrossbar attached to the flexible top. In subsequent modifications, theseal of this patented system was vertically mounted on the crossbar. Thevertically extending lip of the tailgate then closed against thevertically extending seal. This patented arrangement had the distinct,commercial advantage that the flexible top did not have to be attachedor otherwise secured to the tailgate to be held in place or to form aneffective seal. The tailgate could then be opened and closed withoutdisturbing the top. In this manner, the user could move objects into andout of the vehicle by simply opening just the tailgate without having tomanipulate or otherwise disturb the flexible top.

[0005] In this light, the present invention was developed. With it, thecommercially attractive feature of being able to operate the tailgatewithout disturbing the flexible top was successfully adapted to avehicle having a tailgate with a horizontally extending, flat, uppersurface rather than the vertically extending lip of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] This invention relates to tailgate sealing arrangements for sportutility and other vehicles having removable, flexible tops. The sealingarrangement includes an elongated, rigid member attached to the lowersection of the rear portion of the flexible top. The rigid member isremovably mounted to extend across the tailgate opening and has aflexible seal depending downwardly from it. The tailgate in thepreferred embodiment is mounted for pivotal movement about a verticalaxis and has a horizontally extending, flat, upper surface. In operationand as the tailgate is closed, the depending seal contacts and wipesacross the flat, upper surface of the tailgate to form an effectivesealing arrangement. All of this is done without having to disturb orotherwise manipulate the top.

[0007] In the preferred embodiment, the rigid member or crossbar isremovably mounted at its ends to clips secured to the vehicle on eitherside of the tailgate opening. Each clip has a horizontally extendingflange which is slideably received between the legs of a U-shapedchannel on each end of the rigid member. Each U-shaped channel isslightly oversized relative to the flange and the channel and flange ofeach clip are provided with a mating protuberance and recess arrangementto lock the two pieces in place. In operation, the rigid member with theflexible top attached to it is manually manipulated to slide itsU-shaped channels onto the flanges of the respective clips. In doing so,the flexible top is drawn taut and placed under tension. Upon releasingthe rigid member, the resilient force of the stretched top andcompressed seal causes the oversized U-shaped channels to cock or rotateon the clips. This seats the protuberance in the mating recess and helpsto lock the rigid member in place. Also, as the tailgate is closed andcompresses the remaining portion of the resilient seal suspended overthe tailgate opening, additional force is applied to the rigid bar bythis compressed portion of the seal to further enhance this cocking andlocking of the U-shaped channels on the respective clip flanges.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008]FIG. 1 is a rear view of a vehicle employing the tailgate sealingarrangement of the present invention.

[0009]FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the tailgate of thevehicle in an open position providing access to the interior of thevehicle.

[0010]FIG. 3 is a partially exploded view of the rear of the vehicleillustrating the components of the sealing arrangement.

[0011]FIG. 4 is a detail view showing the rear portion of the top asattached to the elongated, rigid member of the sealing arrangement andfurther showing one of the retaining clips mounted on the side of thetailgate opening.

[0012] FIGS. 5-7 sequentially illustrate how the elongated, rigid memberof the sealing arrangement is removably mounted to the retaining clipson the vehicle.

[0013] FIGS. 8-11 sequentially illustrate how the depending sealcontacts and wipes across the horizontally extending, flat, uppersurface of the tailgate as the tailgate is moved to its closed position.

[0014] FIGS. 12-14 illustrate the manner in which the flexible top canbe fastened to the sides of the vehicle with a retainer arrangementemploying the locking protuberance and recess arrangement of FIGS. 5-7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015]FIG. 1 illustrates the tailgate sealing arrangement of the presentinvention in use with a vehicle 1 with the tailgate 3 of the vehicle 1shown in its closed position. In FIG. 2, the tailgate 3 is shown in itsopen position providing access through the tailgate opening 3′ to theinterior of the vehicle 1. In such operation as best seen in these FIGS.1 and 2, the arrangement of the present invention allows the tailgate 3to be opened and closed independently of the rear portion 7 of theflexible top 5. That is, and unlike most tailgate sealing arrangements,the present invention enables the user to operate the tailgate 3 withouthaving to manipulate the rear portion 7 of the flexible top 5. Objectscan then be easily and quickly placed into or taken out of the vehicle 1through the tailgate opening 3′ by simply opening and closing just thetailgate 3. With the present invention, there is no need to undo or redoany attachments between the rear portion 7 of the flexible top 5 and thetailgate 3.

[0016] More specifically, the tailgate sealing arrangement of thepresent invention includes a relatively rigid, elongated member orcrossbar 9 (see the partially exploded view of FIG. 3). As illustrated,this rigid crossbar 9 has end portions 9′ and a middle portion 9″ Tothis rigid member 9, the rear portion 7 of the flexible top 5 isattached adjacent the horizontally extending, lower section 11. This canbe done in any number of ways. In the illustrated one as best seen inFIG. 5, a sleeve-dowel arrangement 13, 15 is slideably received in theC-shaped channel 17 on the outer or right side of the rigid member 9′ inFIG. 5. Retainer clips 19 are then mounted to the vehicle 1 onrespective sides of the tailgate opening 3′ (see again FIG. 3) on thehorizontal surfaces 21. In operation and to initially secure the rigidmember 9 and attached rear portion 7 of the flexible top 5 to the clips19, the side zippers 23 of the rear portion 7 are preferably firstundone from the remainder of the flexible top 5. As illustrated in FIGS.5-7, the rigid member 9 with the rear portion 7 of the top 5 attachedthereto is then manually moved to receive the horizontal flange 25 oneach clip 19 in the U-shaped channel 31. In doing so, the flange 25 isreceived between the substantially parallel legs 27, 29 of the U-shapedchannel 31 in each end portion 9′ of the rigid member 9.

[0017] In this regard as shown in FIGS. 5-7, the entire rigid member 9including its end portions 9′ ends up cocked or rotated about thehorizontal member or flange 25 of each clip 19 (see FIG. 7). This is aresult of a number of things including the slight oversizing of theU-shaped channel 31 relative to the flange 25. The legs 27, 29 of theU-shaped channel 31 in each end portion 9′ are then spaced apart adistance greater than the thickness of the flange 25. Additionally, theflexible top 5 is made of slightly stretchable, resilient material. Thetop 5 is also supported on the bow structure 33 (see FIG. 2) of thevehicle 1 so that the rear portion 7 of the flexible top 5 is manuallystretched and placed under tension in the positions of FIGS. 5 and 6.Consequently, in the released position of FIG. 7, the upward force ofthe stretched, resilient rear portion 7 of the top 5 causes the rigidmember 9 to be rotated about the horizontal flange 25. Also, theflexible, bulb seal 35 depends downwardly from and extends along therigid member 9. In operation, the outer, end parts 35′ of seal 35 (seeFIG. 7) are also compressed and sealingly engage the horizontal surfaces21 on either side of the tailgate opening 3′. This compression of theouter end parts 35′ of the resilient seal 35 further tends to cock orrotate the rigid member 9 about the flange 25.

[0018] To help maintain the rigid member 9 on the flange 25, a lockingarrangement is provided with each pair of U-shaped channel 31 and flange25. This arrangement includes a rib or protuberance 37 and mating recess39 (see FIGS. 5-7). These mating members 37, 39 could be respectively oneither of members 9 and 19 but in the preferred embodiment, theprotruding rib 37 is on the lower leg 27 of the U-shaped channel 31 andthe recess 39 is in the lower surface of flange 25. The rib protuberance37 as illustrated is also preferably located along the leg 27 betweenits free end 27′ (see FIG. 5) and the base 30 of the U-shape 31. Thethickness of the flange 25 is preferably less than the spacing of thelegs 27, 29 minus the distance the protuberance 37 extends inwardly fromthe leg 27. In the preferred manner of operation as shown in FIGS. 5-7,each end portion 9′ is first manually manipulated to slide theprotuberance 37 into alignment with the recess 39 (see FIGS. 5-6). Rigidmember 9 is then released and rotates to the position of FIG. 7 underthe upward forces of the tensioned rear portion 7 of the top 5 and thecompressed, resilient seal at 35′. In the position of FIG. 7 with theprotuberance 37 mated in the recess 39 and the free end 29′ of leg 29 ofthe U-shaped channel 31 abutting the flange 25, the rigid member 9 isheld firmly in place. For ease of assembly, the recess 39 as shown ispreferably larger than the protuberance 37 wherein the protuberance 37tends to lock against one side or lip of the recess 39. The downwardlyextending, rear portion 7 of the flexible top 5 can thereafter be zippedback to the remainder of the top 5 to assume the position of FIG. 2. Atthis point, the rigid member 9 is attached at each end portion 9′ to therespective clips 19. The rigid member 9 is also supported or suspendedacross the top of the tailgate opening 3′ between the upper portions ofthe vertically extending walls 41 defining the tailgate opening 3′ (seeFIGS. 2 and 3).

[0019] In the preferred embodiment, the tailgate 3 is mounted forpivotal movement about a vertical axis but could be mounted for movementabout a horizontal axis. In either case as illustrated in FIGS. 8-11(which are taken essentially along line 11-11 of FIG. 1), the tailgate 3is preferably mounted so that the substantially flat, upper surface 43of the tailgate 3 moves along a path interrupting the suspended, centralportion 35″ of the flexible seal 35. In this manner, the tailgatesurface 43 strikes the lower section of the hollow, bulb seal 35″ (FIG.9). The seal 35″ is then compressed (FIG. 10) and wipes across the flat,upper surface 43 of the tailgate 3 as the tailgate 3 is closed to theposition of FIG. 11. This creates a very effective seal. Additionally,the compression of the resilient seal 35″ against the upper surface 43aids in maintaining the rigid member 9 in its cocked or rotated, lockedposition of FIG. 7. In this regard as previously explained, the upwardforces of the rear portion 7 of the resilient top 5 and compressed endparts 35′ of the seal 35 act against the vehicle surfaces 21 on eitherside of the tailgate opening 31 (see FIG. 7). This initially cocks orrotates the entire rigid member 9 into its locked position of FIG. 7.Thereafter, when the tailgate 3 is closed and its flat, upper surface 43contacts and compresses the middle or remainder 35″ of the seal 35suspended across the tailgate opening 3′ (FIGS. 10 and 11), the rigidmember 9 is really not rotated beyond the locked position of FIG. 7.Rather, the additional compression of the middle seal portion 35″against the tailgate surface 43 will generate additional force orpressure tending to keep the rigid member 9 in its locked position. Inthis manner, the rigid member 9 remains in the position of FIG. 7 and isheld in this position as the tailgate 3 is closed in the sequence ofFIGS. 8-11. Although the compressible, resilient, bulb seal 35 of FIGS.8-11 is preferred, other depending seals such as a lip seal could alsobe used. Additionally, as discussed above, the tailgate 3 can be mountedto pivot about a horizontal axis wherein the flat, upper surface 43 ofthe tailgate 3 would be essentially horizontal in its closed position ofFIG. 11. The flat, upper surface 43 is also preferably at least two andeven three or more times as wide as the seal 35. The rearwardlyextending member 45 in FIGS. 8-11 is simply a rain flap to help directmoisture over the sealing arrangement.

[0020] The flexible top 5 as discussed above is stretchable andresilient. Such stretching and resiliency are fairly limited in thesense of a canvas fabric or vinyl. Nevertheless, the flexible top 5 canbe draped over the bows 33 or other support frame of the vehicle 1 (seeFIG. 2) and pulled taut to stretch a half inch or so. This places thetop 5 under slight tension and the resulting force of such tension isused as explained above to cock or rotate the rigid member 9 (e.g.,extruded aluminum) on the horizontal flange 25 of each clip 19. Suchtension is also used in the present invention to help hold the top 5 inthe side fasteners 2 on the vehicle 1 (see FIGS. 1 and 13).

[0021] In this fastener adaptation of the co-owned U.S. Pat. No.4,757,854, the side retaining system is additionally provided with thebasic locking arrangement of protuberance 37 and recess 39 of FIGS. 5-7.More specifically and as illustrated in FIG. 12, a U-shaped channel 31′is formed by mounting member 2 to the side of the vehicle body 1′. Theflexible top 5 is then sewn or otherwise attached to the relativelyrigid belt or flange 25′ and the flange 25′ inserted into the U-shapedchannel 31′ formed by member 2 (FIG. 12). This stretches and pulls thetop 5 taut. Once inserted and upon releasing the flange 25′, theprotuberance 37′ (see FIG. 13) engages the lip of the recess 39′ to lockthe flange 25′ in place. In the modification of FIG. 14, the recess 39″is adjacent the vehicle body 1′ in a leg of the channel member 2′ andthe protuberance 37″ locks into the recess 39″ . The U-shaped channels31′ and 31″ of FIGS. 12-14 are formed by and described in terms ofmembers attached to or mounted on the vehicle body 1′. However, suchU-shaped channels could obviously be made integral with the vehicle body(e.g., additional metal sheet or molded plastic portion of the vehiclebody itself). The intent is to make the U-shaped channel essentially apart of the vehicle. The locking arrangements of FIGS. 12-14 could alsobe operable in other positions relative to the top 5 as long as the top5 applied forces on the flanges 25′ and 25″ which were generallydirected away from or along the vehicle body 1′.

[0022] While several embodiments of the present invention have beenshown and described in detail, it is to be understood that variouschanges and modifications could be made without departing from the scopeof the invention.

I claim:
 1. In a vehicle having a tailgate and a flexible top with adownwardly extending rear portion wherein said tailgate is mounted formovement between an open position providing access to the interior ofthe vehicle through a tailgate opening in the rear of the vehicle and aclosed position preventing access to the interior through said tailgateopening, said rear portion of said flexible top having a lower sectionextending substantially horizontally and said tailgate having an upper,substantially flat surface with said flat surface extendingsubstantially horizontally in said closed position, the improvementincluding: an arrangement for sealingly engaging the lower section ofthe rear portion of said flexible top and the substantially flat, uppersurface of said tailgate in said closed position, said arrangementincluding a substantially rigid, elongated member attached to the lowersection of the rear portion of said flexible top, said rigid memberhaving end portions spaced from each other, said arrangement furtherincluding a flexible seal mounted to said rigid member and extendingtherealong substantially between the end portions of said rigid memberand means for removably mounting said rigid member to said vehicle in afirst position extending across the tailgate opening with said flexibleseal extending downwardly and substantially across said tailgate openingand sealingly engaging the horizontally extending, flat, upper surfaceof said tailgate in said closed position, said arrangement additionallyincluding means for permitting said tailgate to be moved between saidclosed and opened positions independently of said flexible top withoutremoving said rigid member from said first position mounted across saidtailgate opening with the lower section of the rear portion of saidflexible top attached thereto.
 2. The improvement of claim 1 furtherincluding means for moving said flat, upper surface of said tailgatealong a path intercepting said flexible seal wherein said flexible sealwipes across said flat, upper surface of said tailgate as said tailgatemoves toward said closed position.
 3. The improvement of claim 2 whereinsaid flexible seal and said flat surface have respective widths and thewidth of said flat surface is greater than the width of said flexibleseal.
 4. The improvement of claim 3 wherein the width of said flatsurface is at least twice the width of said flexible seal.
 5. Theimprovement of claim 2 wherein said flexible seal is a hollow, bulb sealand the path of the flat, upper surface of said tailgate as saidtailgate moves toward said closed position intercepts a lower section ofsaid seal.
 6. The improvement of claim 2 wherein said tailgate mountingmeans mounts said tailgate for pivotal movement between said open andclosed positions about a substantially vertical axis.
 7. The improvementof claim 1 wherein said tailgate mounting means mounts said tailgate forpivotal movement between said open and closed positions about asubstantially vertical axis.
 8. The improvement of claim 1 wherein saidtailgate opening is defined in part by two vertically extending walls inthe rear of the vehicle, said walls being spaced a first distance apartand said flexible seal extending along said rigid member for a distanceat least equal to said first distance.
 9. The improvement of claim 8wherein said flexible seal extends along said rigid member for adistance greater than said first distance.
 10. The improvement of claim9 wherein said vehicle has substantially horizontal surfacesrespectively extending outwardly of said vertically extending walls ofsaid tailgate opening and said rigid member is mounted so that parts ofsaid seal adjacent the end portions of said rigid member sealinglyengage said horizontal surfaces outwardly of said tailgate opening. 11.The improvement of claim 1 wherein said tailgate opening is defined inpart by two vertically extending walls in the rear of the vehicle, saidvertical walls having upper and lower portions, said rigid member insaid first position being mounted to extend across the tailgate openingsubstantially between the upper portions of said vertical walls.
 12. Theimprovement of claim 1 wherein said means for removably mounting saidrigid member to said vehicle in said first position extending acrosssaid tailgate opening includes first and second clips mounted to saidvehicle on respective sides of said tailgate opening.
 13. Theimprovement of claim 12 wherein each of said clips includes a firstmember extending substantially horizontally and each end portion of saidrigid member includes a substantially U-shaped channel, said firstmember of each clip being respectively received in said U-shaped channelof the respective end portion of the rigid member to maintain the rigidmember in said first position extending across the tailgate opening. 14.The improvement of claim 13 wherein each horizontal member of each cliprespectively received in the U-shaped channel of each end portion ofsaid rigid member forms a respective pair and each pair of horizontalmember and U-shaped channel has means for locking the pair in place. 15.The improvement of claim 14 wherein said locking means of each pairincludes a mating protuberance and recess.
 16. The improvement of claim15 wherein the U-shaped channel of each pair has two legs and a base andthe protuberance of each pair is on one of the legs of the U-shapedchannel and the recess is in the horizontal member of the clip.
 17. Theimprovement of claim 16 wherein the one leg of said U-shaped channelextends from the base of said U-shaped channel to a free end and saidprotuberance is located along said one leg spaced from said free endtoward said base.
 18. The improvement of claim 16 wherein the legs ofeach U-shaped channel are spaced apart a first distance and saidhorizontal member of each clip has a thickness less than the firstdistance and said improvement further includes means for rotating saidU-shaped channel about said horizontal member to mate said protuberancein said recess to lock said U-shaped channel on said horizontal member.19. A retaining arrangement primarily intended for removably attaching aflexible top to a vehicle body, said retaining arrangement including: asubstantially rigid member having first and second sides, said firstside having a U-shaped channel therein with two legs and a base and saidsecond side having means for attaching said rigid member to saidflexible top, said retaining arrangement further including a clip with aflange and means for mounting said clip to said vehicle body with theflange spaced from the vehicle body and receivable in the U-shapedchannel of said rigid member between the legs of the U-shape, and meansfor locking said flange in said U-shaped channel, said locking meansincluding a mating protuberance and recess, said protuberance extendingoutwardly from one of said flange and said U-shaped channel and saidmating recess extending inwardly of the other of said flange and saidU-shaped channel.
 20. The retaining arrangement of claim 19 wherein saidprotuberance is on said U-shaped channel and said recess is in saidflange.
 21. The retaining arrangement of claim 19 wherein saidprotuberance is on one of the legs of said U-shaped channel and saidrecess is in said flange.
 22. The retaining arrangement of claim 21wherein the one leg of said U-shaped channel extends from the base ofthe U-shaped channel to a free end and said protuberance is locatedalong said one leg spaced from said free end toward said base.
 23. Theretaining arrangement of claim 21 wherein the legs of said U-shapedchannel are spaced apart a first distance and the protuberance extendsinwardly from said one leg a second distance toward the other leg andsaid flange has a thickness less than the first distance minus thesecond distance.
 24. The retaining arrangement of claim 23 furtherincluding means for rotating said U-shaped channel about said flange tomate said protuberance in said recess to lock said rigid member on saidflange.
 25. The retaining arrangement of claim 24 wherein said rotatingmeans includes means for applying a force to said rigid member.
 26. Theretaining arrangement of claim 25 wherein said flexible top isstretchable and resilient and supported on the vehicle body so that theflexible top is stretched as the flange is received in the U-shapedchannel wherein said force applying means to rotate said U-shapedchannel includes said stretched, resilient top attached to said rigidmember.
 27. The retaining arrangement of claim 25 wherein said forceapplying means includes a compressible, resilient seal.
 28. Theretaining arrangement of claim 19 wherein the legs of the U-shapedchannel are spaced apart a first distance and said flange has athickness less than the first distance and said retaining arrangementfurther includes means for rotating said U-shaped channel about saidflange to mate said protuberance in said recess to lock said U-shapedchannel on said flange.
 29. A retaining arrangement primarily intendedfor removably attaching a flexible, stretchable, resilient top to avehicle body, said retaining arrangement including: a U-shaped channelmeans with legs and a base, a flange, means for attaching one of saidU-shaped channel means and said flange to said flexible top, and meansfor mounting the other of said U-shaped channel means and said flange onthe vehicle body, said flange being receivable in said U-shaped channelmeans between the legs of the U-shape, and means for locking said flangein said U-shaped channel means, said locking means including a matingprotuberance and recess, said protuberance extending outwardly from afirst of said flange and said U-shaped channel means and said matingrecess extending inwardly of a second of said flange and said U-shapedchannel means.
 30. The retaining arrangement of claim 29 wherein thelegs of said U-shaped channel means are spaced apart a first distanceand the flange has a thickness less than said first distance and saidretaining arrangement further includes means for rotating the one ofsaid U-shaped channel means and said flange attached to said flexibletop about the other of said U-shaped channel means and flange mounted onthe vehicle body to mate said protuberance in said recess to lock saidflange in said U-shaped channel means.
 31. The retaining arrangement ofclaim 30 wherein the protuberance is on one of the legs of the U-shapedchannel means and the recess is in the flange.
 32. The retainingarrangement of claim 30 wherein the protuberance is on the flange andthe recess is in one of the legs of the U-shaped channel means.